Ashes to Asher

After having spent a good part of the day travelling, read that as flying, which Emil was terrified of, and then driving up increasingly steep, increasingly narrow roads which had made him increasingly nervous, Emil decided once he was in the very comfortable, if seriously out of date, hotel room to take a short nap. He was well and truly exhausted. He had been on duty round the clock those last several months with Robert, and he was feeling the lack of sleep still. He set an alarm on his phone, not quite trusting the clock on the bedside table since it didn't seem to be showing the correct time. He wanted to make sure this was just a short nap so that he could be back at the diner for the evening meal, and to retrieve his car.

Well, it was sort of his car. He had rented it, so it was his at least temporarily. His own car had been sold when he had been added to the insurance as the primary driver of Robert's handicap accessible van. Once Robert had passed and left everything to Emil, that had been sold as well. Emil had flown to the nearest city to the small town where he was headed, but had discovered that just because two places looked close on a map, that didn't mean that they actually were close by road. As it turned out, the city where his plane had landed was a four-hour drive from his final destination. He had rented a car, and was sorely tempted to get the convertible, but in the end, he couldn't justify the extra expense or the sunburn. Five minutes into his drive, he was glad of his choice, at it had poured down a heavy rain for the first two hours of his drive. Fortunately for him, it had been clear skies, bright and sunny for the last half of his journey. Emil didn't want to imagine trying to drive up those twisting, narrow, ledges that someone mistakenly called roads in lowered visibility or slickened conditions.

He was surprised by the amount of water pressure he had for his shower as he got ready to return to the diner for his evening meal. He did wonder about other options for that, like if there was a fast-food place around the small town somewhere, other than the national chain grease pit that was at the bottom of the mountains that had taken him an hour and a half to drive up earlier that day. Wanting to be comfortable, he dressed in his coziest, favorite work uniform of hospital style scrubs.

He had fought wearing such obvious nursing style clothing for a long time, as he didn't want to be mistaken for someone with actual medical training. Once he had finally tried a pair of the pants and shirt on, however, he was convinced. They were really easy to work and move around in. Actually, he had also used them as pajamas when he was on duty around the clock that last year or so. He even went for full comfort by slipping into his faux suede moccasins. They were his go to shoes for inside the house, even though they technically had a rubber sole on them that was safe outdoors as well. Normally he wouldn't wear them to go outside any further than the end of the driveway to get the mail or haul out the garbage bins, but Emil reasoned that just walking down the sidewalk in town would be okay.

When he got back to the diner, he found that as Danny had predicted, there were about five people sitting at tables. They weren't the only new faces for him though. There was a woman about his age at the cash register when he walked in. He went straight up to her and smiled. "I was in earlier today and had a coffee and piece of pie, but a very nice lady called Moony took me to the hotel before I could pay for anything. Could you make sure it's included in the bill for this meal, please?"

"Just a cup of java and yesterday's pie won't break the bank," the woman said with a wave of dismissal.

"Perhaps not, but it's the principal of the thing," Emil continued. "I would feel better if I knew I had paid for them."

"It's ok to accept a little help now and then when times are tough," she whispered softly. "If you're that determined to hide your situation though, maybe you should use just cold water for your laundry so that the purple pants don't bleed onto the white shirt."

"Mother, why don't you go get Mr. Barney his beer? I can put this guy at a table," Danny said as he gave her a look, suddenly appearing at her side. "I mean I can show him to a seat," he corrected when Mom turned that special look on him. Once she was gone, Danny had me follow him to a table at the far back of the diner. "I'm sorry about Mom," he told Emil. "I swear she has no brains when it comes to colors and fashion."

"She seemed very nice," Emil countered. "It was kind of her to think that I needed help because I had made a laundry error."

"Yeah, but anyone can see you didn't," Danny said, rolling his eyes. "I mean that is so clearly not a white shirt. It's obviously light lilac, and those are not purple pants. Any idiot can tell they're French Violet."

"I thought they were purple," Emil admitted.

"You thought wrong," Danny corrected him. "Anyway, tonight's special is chicken fried steak, mashed potatoes, and little green peas."

"That sounds perfect. I'll have that," Emil agreed happily.

"There's also fresh made cherry pie for dessert that you should definitely order a slice of, or maybe two."

"Are you trying to fatten me up for a reason, kiddo?" Emil teased. "It wouldn't be so that you run out of cherry pie before you have to eat any of it maybe?"

"I'm allowed to not like stuff," the kid pouted.

"Yes, you are, but I think I would rather try the peanut butter pie I was told about earlier," Emil grinned. It was totally worth it. Danny's whole head popped up so fast that Emil feared he got whiplash. His eyes were as wide open as his mouth.

"There's peanie butt… I mean peanut butter pie?" the kid squealed so loudly that everyone in the diner heard him. They all laughed as yelled at Asher. "GRANDPA, you're a meanie."

"Inside voice, Daniel," his mother called out.

"But Mom, Grandpa told me all he had was cherry pie and the whole time he had peanut butter pie hiding back there somewhere."

"I'm aware, son," she laughed. "You should be nicer to him, and maybe he wouldn't prank you so much."

"Grandpa knows I love him, I swear," the boy defended. "You do know that, don't you, Grandpa. I love you better than anybody in the whole world, except for Mom of course," he blurted to the older man who had stepped out of the kitchen to get a hug from the kid.

"Nice save, you little menace," Asher laughed as he ruffled Danny's hair before going back into the kitchen. "Nice to see you again, Emil. You're not paying for the coffee and pie, by the way."

"Grandpa says your caramel suicide cup and apple pie are on him as a thank you for taking care of his friend Robert," Danny explained as he set a place mat and silverware in front of Emil. "Hey, I just noticed, where is he?" he asked looking all around the table and up and down Emil.

"I don't carry a box of ashes with me everywhere I go all the time," Emil snorted. "I'm not really sure why I brought it in with me earlier. I just felt like I was supposed to for some reason."

"Well, Grandpa sure seemed glad you did, even though it did kind of make him sad," Danny told him. "He gets sad a lot, though, so don't let that worry you. Worrying isn't good for old people like you."

"Go get my food, you little heathen," Emil scolded with a laugh. The boy scampered away with a giggle and a grin, just as his mother approached the table.

"I would like to apologize for anything my son may have said or done that was inappropriate or rude. He's at that age where I say this most of my day, whether I know about anything or not."

"Danny was a perfect little angel," Emil told her. At her scolding mother look, he ducked his head a bit and said, "Ok, he might have called me old, but from his point of view I am."

"That sounds more like him," she admitted as she relaxed visibly. "And I do apologize for his lack of using the manners that I know I've taught him. Uncle Ash lets him get away with murder when I'm not around, though."

"I've been told that a boy and his grandpa are supposed to get into mischief together because it's in the job description," Emil smiled.

"Grandpa tells me that all the time," Danny piped up as he set a very generously portioned plate of food in front of Emil. "He also said that the extra food wouldn't make you fat, so eat it and hush about it. Technically, he said something about a lifetime on your hips sounding really good, but if he wants to flirt with you, he can do it himself, so I made up the part about you not getting fat."

"Oh, Danny," Mom said as she hid her face in her hands.

"What? I'm just trying to help Grandpa score so he won't be sad and grumpy all the time," Danny defended himself. Emil nearly choked on his sip of water, and Danny's mom made a distressed sound like she was dying, or at least wanted to die. The oblivious menace trotted off to check on one of the regulars leaving embarrassed adults in his wake.

"I am so sorry," Mom whimpered as she still hid behind her hands.

"I'll live, maybe," Emil said a little hoarsely, still coughing a bit. "He's certainly an outspoken and friendly child."

"What a polite way of saying pain in the butt," Mom snorted. "I'm Ashley, by the way, and yes, I was named after my uncle."

"Hey, Asher!" an old man at one of the tables called out loudly.

"Now Barney, you know I don't have any control over what you do at home, but I have the same doctor you do, so you're not getting more than one beer a day from me," Asher announced as he came out of the kitchen.

"This ain't about the beer, but you wait till I see that little pipsqueak of a doctor again. Patient confidentiality, my foot," the old man, now identified as Barney, fumed.

"Well, what do you want?"

"Just thought you should know that your little Cupid here is trying hook you up."

"Mr. Barney," Danny whined.

"What? Isn't that the right term? Hooking up?" Barney asked as if he were innocently inquiring about the time of day.

"Not the point, but yeah," Danny sighed in exasperation. "You weren't supposed to tell everybody, though."

"Little Bit, it is way past time that Asher found out he ain't fooling none of us and he never did. We knew what him and Robert were like before they were your age."

"Nobody ever said anything except Moony," Asher said flatly as he collapsed into a chair.

"We were waiting on you to tell us," Barney snorted. "But at my age, I can't wait much longer for you to own up to that peculiar hitch in your getalong that you've had ever since you could getalong."

"I'll translate later," Emil heard Ashley whisper to Danny.

Barney kept on talking in the background. "If any of us had ever had a problem with you, you'd have known about it long before now. We always understood that you, and Robert, were just exactly the way God made you to be. You never made a big deal out of it, so neither did we. None of us are as stupid as some people like to think we are."

"I smell something burning," Ashley announced suddenly. "You stay out here and listen, Uncle Ash. I'll take care of the kitchen."

"Oh, no you won't," an old woman scolded. "We don't want the health department shutting Ash down."

"Rude," Ashley complained, but she didn't move toward the kitchen.

"Well, I'm no fry cook, but I can keep up with a group this size, I'm sure," Emil offered. "As long as no one turns me into for not being an employee," he added with a laugh.

"I'm the town constable," one of the other men called out. "And I'm hungry, so I hereby authorize you to feed us while we all let this cantankerous old idiot know we all love him just the way he is."

"I'll pay you in food if you cook it," Asher called out as Emil entered the kitchen. "That makes you an employee for the night."

Emil was surprised to find Moony already in the kitchen sitting on a stool and smiling at him. "You work; I'll supervise. By the way, the mashed potatoes are a total loss. I'm not even sure the pan can be saved at this point."

"I'm a caregiver, mashed potatoes are practically a job requirement," Emil laughed. He checked over the other pots and pans and then started on a fresh batch of mashed potatoes. He paused for a moment indecisively and Moony spoke again.

"Make them your way and if they don't like it, well it's just one meal, they'll live," the old woman smiled. "Now aren't you glad you wore your light comfy uniform tonight?"

"I sure am, because it's hot in this kitchen even in this outfit," Emil laughed. He went on with making the fresh pot of potatoes but realized that the gravy hadn't been started yet. "Umm, we might have a problem. Gravy is not one of my skills."

"I'm sure it will be fine," the old woman told him. A few minutes later she was standing beside him and making tutting noises. "Not one of your skills? Well, apparently understatement is one of them because I've never seen gravy look like that before. Ashie, your cutie pie needs some help in here," she called out loudly.

"Miss Moony!" Emil squeaked while blushing profusely.

"Now, Moony quit teasing the nice man," Asher laughed as he walked into the kitchen. He took one look at the pan of gravy, and said, "Looks like he's doing ok to me, these mashed taters look…. They look fine, just fine."

"The mashed potatoes are over here," Emil pointed out quietly, and gestured to a different pan.

"Oh, those look really good, and they smell good, too," Asher said with relief. Then he stopped and blinked again. "Wait, if that's the mashed over there, then what is this?"

"That's his gravy," Moony supplied with a snort and a giggle.

"Good God, Ashley's gravy isn't that lumpy and she can burn water," Asher blurted.

"Hey, Mom, you got any popcorn?" a young voice called out loudly.

"Popcorn? What do you want with popcorn, and no, you're not going to spoil your appetite for dinner," Ashley fussed at her son.

"But, Mom, you always have popcorn when you watch your rom coms on tv. This one is even better 'cause it's live," the boy blurted. Everyone in the diner laughed except Asher and Emil. Asher was too busy starting a new pan of gravy.

"I should go now," Emil blurted. "I was just… I mean I wanted to… I didn't mean to…. I guess I'm not that hungry after all." He quickly walked out of the kitchen and hurried out the door of the diner.